Up by more than 1,000 on Wednesday, August 19, the positive number of COVID-19 cases surpassed the 70,000 mark in the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the total number of positive cases was 70,675- up from 69,417 on Tuesday, August 18.

Twelve more COVID-19-related deaths were added, increasing that total from 1,402 on Tuesday to 1,414 on Wednesday. However, DHSS does not report how many positive patients have recovered.

DHSS expects the next update to take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, August 20.